The purpose of the fiscal year (FY) 2019–20 Quality Counts California (QCC) Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Block Grant is to support local QRIS consortia to provide training, technical assistance, and resources to help early learning and care (ELC) providers meet a higher tier of quality as determined by their local QRIS. The California Department of Education (CDE) envisions that a local QRIS consortium or Tribal region will use the QCC QRIS Block Grant funding to support local ELC programs serving children birth to five and to increase the number of low-income children in high-quality early learning settings.
The goal is to increase quality across the continuum of ELC settings ranging from family, friend and neighbor (FFN) to licensed family child care homes and centers. While a rating is not applicable for all settings, at a minimum, ELC settings and providers can participate in the quality improvement system (QIS) portion of QCC. As settings become more ready, the goal is to have more ELC settings in the QRIS, as applicable.
None is available.
Eligible Child Care Facilities, for purposes of this RFA, refer to licensed centers and family child care homes in good standing, per the Implementation Guide, and any of the following programs exempt from licensure:
Eligible applicants are Local educational agencies. Applicants must have a QRIS plan on file with the California Department of Education (CDE) or demonstrate that the local QRIS has at least one rated site within the first six months of a signed grant award notification.
Letters of Intent are to be submitted by July 18, 2019. Applications are to be submitted by August 15, 2019. Similar deadlines are anticipated, annually.
Approximately $10,385,200 is available in funding. The QCC QRIS Block Grant funding levels will be determined based on the June 2018 Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division licensed capacity per county of the approved applicants and the percentage of children represented in Tribes within California. There is no minimum or maximum grant amount for each grantee. The QCC QRIS Block Grant provides funding, beginning July 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020. Cost sharing/matching is not required.